1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wax model base for an abutment of a dental implant. The wax model base is for producing a wax model used for producing an abutment in a dental implant treatment, where the abutment has a core portion and a portion coming into contact with a gingiva suitable for a patient.
2. Description of the Conventional Art
A treatment technique of a dental implant has been conventionally developed and used as a dental prosthesis method at a lost tooth position, in addition to a method using a bridge or a denture. In the treatment technique of a dental implant, an implant fixture to be a device for retaining and stabilizing a dental prosthesis is embedded in an embedding hole formed in a jawbone at the lost tooth position, and substitutes it for a function of a dental root in a natural tooth. A dental prosthesis fixing device is connected and fixed on the oral cavity inner side of the implant fixture to make it to be a dental prosthesis retaining device. Then, a dental prosthesis is fixed to the dental prosthesis retaining device.
The implant treatment technique generally uses an abutment for a dental implant (it will be hereinafter called just an abutment) as the dental prosthesis fixing device connected and fixed to the oral cavity inner side of the implant fixture, where the abutment has a portion coming into contact with a gingiva and a fixing device of a dental prosthesis. The conventional abutment has an engagement portion for engaging with the implant fixture embedded in a jawbone at a lost tooth position so as not to rotate and has a through hole and the like to be fixed with a screw. A dental prosthesis is fixed thereto with a screw or cement or the like. An external shape of a portion to be the dental prosthesis fixing device of the conventional abutment has an approximately cylindrical shape or a truncated conical shape. When an angle is different between the implant fixture and the dental prosthesis, there are many shapes of abutment such as an abutment having an angle, etc.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-337190, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-78719 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-95680 discuss the conventional abutments having predetermined sizes and shapes. In addition to these, there is a custom abutment having a shape in which a portion coming into contact with a gingiva is fit for a gingival shape of an individual patient. A general production method of the custom abutment includes steps of making a wax model of the custom abutment with a wax so as to make a portion in contact with a gingiva in a shape fit for a gingival shape of an individual patient on a gypsum model reproducing an inside of an oral cavity in which the implant fixture is embedded, and cutting a pure-titanium metal or a titanium alloy by a CAD/CAM system based on the wax model to produce the custom abutment made of a pure-titanium metal or a titanium alloy. At this time, an implant fixture analog produced to have the same shape as a shape at the oral cavity inner side of the implant fixture is embedded at a position corresponding to a position in the gypsum model at which the implant fixture is embedded. By using this gypsum model, wax is built on a metal base (it is called a waxing base) corresponding to an engagement portion of the implant fixture analog.
However, in the waxing base discussed in each of aforementioned Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-337190, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-78719 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-95680, it is not considered that the portion coming into contact with a gingiva is to be formed so as to have a shape fit for a gingival shape of an individual patient. In addition, as for the waxing base, an external shape of the portion to be the dental prosthesis fixing device is an approximately cylindrical shape or a truncated conical shape. Thus, a model for a portion to be a dental prosthesis is produced separately using wax, and there is a defect that a time and a workload are thus necessary.